After an impassioned phone conversation with the FBI director, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced that the bureau is prepared to hand over a document that could be detrimental to President Joe Biden.
When he made an appearance on television on Sunday, the California representative elaborated on the conversation he had with director Christopher Wray on Friday. This occurred one day after the federal government denied a subpoena for the still-classified report.
The formal request, which was made by the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, concerned a prospective financial document that, according to some Republican legislators, outlines a “alleged criminal scheme” involving Vice President Joe Biden and an unknown foreign figure.
However, almost immediately thereafter, Comer, a Kentucky Republican, received a letter from the bureau’s interim assistant director of congressional affairs informing him that the agency would not promptly provide the requested documentation.
McCarthy, 58, promptly issued his own statement criticizing the response, labeling Assistant Director Christopher Dunham’s official response as “unacceptable.”
Two days later, the speaker verified that the incident had taken place and expressed confidence that the document, whose contents had reportedly been corroborated by a “highly credible” whistleblower, would soon be in the hands of the House.
McCarthy began, speaking for the first time about the scheduled contact between him and Wray, by stating, “I wanted to be clear with the FBI director.” “Congress has the right and the authority to oversee the FBI.”
The Republican continued, “This is one piece of paper that a committee chairman has requested to see,” at the conclusion of an approximately seven-minute speech in which he also discussed his most recent discussions with Biden regarding the debt ceiling.
In reference to the requested document, he stated, “[Dunham] hasn’t even acknowledged that he has it; he hasn’t even delivered it.”
McCarthy recalled to Bartiromo how, on Friday, he confronted the FBI director with the reality that Dunham’s rejection constituted not only a transgression of ethics, but also a violation of the law, citing Congress’ oversight role over the FBI and other federal agencies.
The Republican recounted, “I explained to the director that we will do everything in our power and that we have jurisdiction over the FBI – that we have the right to see this document.”
I believe we will receive this document following this phone call.
Aside from this presumption, the GOP operative remained silent regarding the contents of the document, which Comer and Iowa’s Chuck Grassley claim is an FD-1023 form describing “an alleged scheme involving then-Vice President Biden.”
In this instance, according to Republican representatives, it involves Biden’s alleged ties to “a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.” Typically, these forms are used to document unverified information obtained from confidential sources.
Other than McCarthy, neither individual has provided any additional details about the contested document.
Senator Grassley, who issued the subpoena alongside Senator Comer, acknowledged last week that he and other Republicans are uncertain about the veracity of the charges, thereby increasing the pressure on the FBI.
The formal request did not deter Dunham, who shortly thereafter sent a letter to Comer delineating the reasons why the organization would not provide the document immediately.
‘The FD-1023 form is used to document the information provided to a line FBI agent. Recording the information does not validate the information, establish its credibility, or compare it to other FBI-developed or known information,’ Dunham wrote to the conservative in Kentucky
“The mere existence of such a document would establish little beyond the fact that a confidential human source provided information and the FBI recorded it,” he continued, arguing that the claims of the unnamed insiders do not necessitate an immediate federal investigation.
‘The FBI receives information routinely from sources with substantial potential biases, motivations, and knowledge, including drug traffickers, members of organized crime, and even terrorists,’ he added.
Comer, on the other hand, remained unconvinced, contending in a retaliatory statement that the agency’s letter alone proves the existence of the document and that bureau employees are concealing it from Congress.
“It is evident from the FBI’s response that the subpoenaed unclassified record exists, but they are refusing to provide it to the Committee,” Comer elucidated.
‘We’ve asked the FBI to not only provide this record, but to also inform us what it did to investigate these allegations. The FBI has failed to do both. The FBI’s position is “trust, but you aren’t allowed to verify.” That is unacceptable.’
Two days later, this revelation followed Comer’s earlier statement that his panel “will report to you only facts when they are verified and indisputable” (referring to any foreign funds transferred to businesses associated with the Biden family and their allies).
He added: ‘This committee will not pursue witch hunts, or string the American people along for years with false promises of evidence that is beyond circumstantial evidence.’